“Representatives from SuSE Linux are anxious to help clear the air about some misunderstandings they feel have arisen around recent news regarding UnitedLinux. And to accomplish this, they have revealed plans for a developer’s release of the new distribution.” Read the news at LinuxToday.
SuSE Denies UnitedLinux Per-Seat License Model
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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I dont think that FSF should have to right to say what is right or wrong for distros to have inside of them. If i started a new distro today, i should have the right to package inside of it any software i want, be it free or non-free, open source or closed source as long as im not violating any of the licenses, there shouldnt be a problem.
I applaud the 4 companies and their UnitedLinux approach, I for one dont mind seeing people making a bit of money off of Linux, because i know that are giving back to the community, even if its just in marketing and user-base.
I dont think that FSF should have to right to say what is right or wrong
Sure they do. Everybody has the right to say what they think is right or wrong. It’s a matter of free speech. The problems start when people try to force others to comply with their ideas of right and wrong.
And here’s what Stallman said on the issue:
Licensing per seat perverts the GNU+Linux system into something that respects your freedom as much as Windows. They cannot restrict the GPL-covered programs in the system that way, because that would violate the GNU GPL, but the system also contains non-copylefted programs which are points of vulnerability. Free software developers, please don’t let them license YOUR program per seat. Use the GNU GPL!
He cannot force any company to comply with his ideology. The only thing he can do is to ask the open source developers to use the GPL (see the last 2 sentences). It’s up to the developers.
i for one am glad to see linux dsitro’s getting a completly compatible solution put together, this is what the linux standard base should be! my hope is that other big distros like mandrake and even redhat will rally behind this idea, and makle all the major linux distros’s completely compatible across the board. this is one big step closer to winning over supporters.
Quite frankly, there shouldn’t be so many different distros that have different libraries, kernels and configuration files. And window managers.
> “Quite frankly, there shouldn’t be so many different distros that have different libraries, kernels and configuration files.”
> “i for one am glad to see linux dsitro’s getting a completly compatible solution put together, this is what the linux standard base should be!”
That is what all users would wish after trying only 3 distros of Linux crap. I wished it too before I gave it up.
Normally the distros’s people don’t really care about users; they care about claiming hegemony and spreading a standard to achieve it (like RedHat – PinkTie — the RedHat ‘name’ is Registered Trade Mark, how ridiculous can they be ?).
Users of Linux distros tend to feel screwed up with this bheaviourism (sorry 🙂 but since they like it that’s all right. Nothing will change anyway.
They all mainly use the same kernel, or very similar ones. Its all the linux kernel, which you can always replace with a newer version whenever you want. Config files isnt THAT big of an issue as thats more of an application thing, the distro just takes care of where they go, and most of the time its just in /etc/ anyways. Libraries, well, those can be a pain sometimes but its not the OSes fault if the user doesnt update his system once in a while, if apps want new functions available in new libraries, good for them. Its like games requiring the latest and greatest DirectX version for windows, its to the users advantage to keep up to date.
(no longer addressed to Mario…)
I think the main problem behind the many distributions is the package management. When i first got interested in linux, i used RedHat, and let me tell you, having to install software the way its done scared the crap out of me. Now im used to it, apt rocks though.
The main problems i think this united force should face are:
-application installs. Theres no reason why they cant make an actual nice frontend which handles installs while being verbose enough so that the user can understand.
-marketing. They want money, i just hope they are ready to spend a little first.
-hooking people off of WINE. i think they will need to convince people that there are OSS solutions to almost every Windows program, and that they shouldnt not relying on WINE. I dont like it when distros claim they can run both linux and windows apps (ie: lindows, corel linux), because i find that its relaying : “yeah, linux doesnt have apps you like, but HEY, dont worry you can run your windows ones.” which in most cases is false.
my 2 cents about that.
All Linux distributions use the Linux kernel. Duh!
Show me a mainstream Linux distribution that doesn’t use glibc!
Why, oh why would someone want to change a configuration file?
…it’s the location. Red Hat has all of their configuration files scattered all over the place in the most brain-dead way imaginable. Slackare errs towards the BSD way of configuring the system. If a vendor is going to distribute a piece of soaftware that alters those files they have to either:
A) Have the user do it
B) Support every possible config file layout
c) Officialy support only Red Hat/Susy what ever.
This another reason why Linux sucks. The distros should make up their mind if they want to use SYSV or BSD config/init scripts.
> “Show me a mainstream Linux distribution that doesn’t use glibc !”
The problem is that the version differs from one to the other distribution. Software from a Mandrake CD doesn’t install peacefully on a SuSE or a RedHat running system with a different glibc.
Directory tree also makes it so much harder to install packages that you gave up and buy the distro X or Z. It sucks.
Chicobaud wrote:
like RedHat – PinkTie — the RedHat ‘name’ is Registered Trade Mark, how ridiculous can they be ?
I don’t find it ridiculous at all; nor do I find it wrong that they (DedRat – er, RedHat) told CheapBytes that they could no longer sell “RedHat Linux.”
If you have a trademark (eg, a company name) you must protect it, or be seen to protect it. If you don’t, then the Trademark loses its’ power and anyone can adopt it.
This is the backup argument that was proposed in the Lindows case. If the courts didn’t buy that “Windows” was a generic word, then Lindows.com planned to argue that Microsoft chose not to pursue any of the companies using “Windows” (or derivatives thereof) to enforce their TradeMark.
In short, “Use it or lose it!”
RedHat’s motives were completely harmless – they didn’t get heavy handed or prevent CheapBytes distributing their software. They were simply doing what they had to under the law.
And no, I am far from a RedHat lover… I’ve gone Gentoo for my desktops, Debian for my server boxen.
*sigh*Why didn’t I ever just stay with FreeBSD?
Just a point that I forgot to make above:
If RedHat didn’t protect their TradeMark and thus it lost its’ power, would you really want Microsoft to be able to market one of their buggy products as RedHat?
I can see it now – a re-badged Windows 95 without security patches and an increased amount of BSOD’s (if that is possible) bantied around as “RedHat.”
Of course, then MS could tell everyone how bad “RedHat” is and push people into upgrading to Windows XXXP!
If a vendor is going to distribute a piece of soaftware that alters those files they have to either:
A) Have the user do it
B) Support every possible config file layout
c) Officialy support only Red Hat/Susy what ever.
Here’s a “problem” that simply doesn’t exist! What are “those files” anyway? Besides, if a person needs to find a file, they can use a simple utility. There’s no reason why an install script can’t use the same utility tofind some file. So exactly what is the problem?
The problem is that the version differs from one to the other distribution. Software from a Mandrake CD doesn’t install peacefully on a SuSE or a RedHat running system with a different glibc.
Another “problem” in search of an instance! First of all, the claim is baloney. What version of glibc is on a given system has no effect on statically linked programs. And it’s the rare program that requires one and only glibc version, so all we’re talking about is apps that require the latest libs. If you have a program that requires a “bleeding edge” glibc version, then update glibc. What’s the big deal? More to the point, it has nothing to do with distributions!
I’ll bet a quarter that this guy’s beef is with RPM. Yeah, here’ a good plan — throw the baby out with the bathwater! Real bright…
How come nobody is whining that they can’t run Windows XP binaries on ’98? Or OSX binaries on OS9? Hypocrites.
I had caldera linux four years ago. 15 minutes to learn how to do FDISK under Linux, TWENTY minutes fighting with the graphical mouse installer!!! Was able to connect to the internet right away, but to this day never figured out how to access the CD-ROM. (RTFM, it plainly states that first you have to ‘mount’ it, whatever the fsck *that* means, lol!!!) Had Corel Linux, never did figure out how to go online. It sure had a lovely animated splash screen though. Oh well, at least they attended to the needful things I guess. I once posted that the number one app any alternative OS needed was a contemporary web browser, and got the hell flamed out of me. Much later I asked if there were any Linux distro’s comparable to the QNX demo disk, just a web-ready OS with a browser and notepad and maybe a file manager, but none of the developement tools and programming utilities. The answers I recieved either recommended distros that were “only” 400MB, or suggested that I didn’t fully appreciate the wonders of the programming tools I said I wasn’t interested in. Others suggested that I was too stupid to use Linux and should stick to Windows, or told me how much space XP needs, which isn’t even relevant. Sure, Linux people don’t owe me anything, but they’re always looking for converts. You see it yourself every day in any number of forums. Get a clue, make a minimal distro with just the OS, a web browser, a notepad, and some way to navigate the pc, perhaps ZTree. And don’t even *think* about snivelling that you’re not being paid to make a lean and simple distro, because I’d pay money for it myself, and so would many others here. But no, they have to team up to see who can make a more bloated distro than Red Hat. Oh well, as Eric Idle said with feigned indignation, “It hasn’t got as much Spam as the Spam eggs Spam sausage and Spam, does it!?”
Keep giving us all the features nobody asked for, guys. I predict that two years from now nothing will have changed.
Get a clue sometime, will ya? Bet there are others except me that is tired of your whining. Linux apologist.
Have you ever even looked at a linux box before? And if so have you used any distributions other than Mandrake? The file names are fifferent, the locations are different, the syntax is different and what goes in each file is different.
Get a clue.
i for one am glad to see linux dsitro’s getting a completly compatible solution put together, this is what the linux standard base should be! my hope is that other big distros like mandrake and even redhat will rally behind this idea, and makle all the major linux distros’s completely compatible across the board. this is one big step closer to winning over supporters.
I don’t see the benefit of doing this. Most people try a bunch of distros and then settle on the one they like the most. As a Debian user, what do I care if RedHat is an exact replica of it or not?
Also, I don’t think you will see RedHat joining forces with other distributions. They have the largest market share already, so why would they want to share that with other companies? It would be like Microsoft sharing their proprietary file formats with Corel and other office products so all office programs would work together better. It will never happen.
Lots o’ claims, and not a single example. And of course name-calling. Yeah, I’m really impressed by those “expert” observations. If I were to venture a guess as to the real reason for this baseless Linux bashing, I would think it was out of sheer jealousy. 15 minutes to type 5 letters is a good indication that something is wrong with the component sitting at the keyboard. There’s nothing wrong with being feeble-minded. But putting down other things and people…not good.